Dispensing apparatus for packages



Nov- 1963 s. VANDERWAL DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR PACKAGES 3 Sheets-Sheet1 Filed Dec. 16. 1960 I INVENTOR.

Nov. 12, 1963 s. VANDERWAL DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR PACKAGES 3Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 16. 1960 BY {/i L JUM UA-l F.1- S

Nov. 12, 1963 VANDERWAL 3,110,415

DISPENSING APPARATUS FOR PACKAGES Filed Dec. 16. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 Iq l 7 5 E4? a 7 17 @5 2 E" 1 I ,3! :LJ 3 20 5 as F 3 '24 r; 47 25 j E- EW 5; 2? Z VENTOR. a- 'owKL E BY WWW/11L United States Patent 3,110,416DESPENEING APPARATUS FOR PACKAGES Sjouire Vanderwal, Agincourt, Ontario,Canada, assignor to American (Ihicle Company, Long Island City, N.Y., acorporation of New Jersey Filed Dec. 16, 1966, Ser. No. 76,991 2 Claims.(ill. 22193) The present invention relates to an improved dispensingapparatus which will remove predetermined numbers of individual units,particularly confections, such as chewing gum packages, from stacksthereof, so that bags or other containers may receive a plurality ofconfection units from each stack and a different number of units fromone stack relatively to a second stack or stacks The invention will bedescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the apparatus, partly token away and shownpartly in dotted lines, the elements of the apparatus bein in positionpreliminary to an ejection movement;

FIG. 2 is a view similar to FIG. 1 showing the apparatus elements inposition toward the end of a unit ejection position;

PEG. 3 is a front elevation of the apparatus;

-FIG. 4 is a schematic view in side elevation showing the primaryejection elements in the position of FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 is a view sinu'lar to FIG. 4 showing the ejection elements in theposition of FIG. 2;

FIG. 6 is a horizontal section looking downwardly from the lines 66,FIG. 3;

1G. 7 is a two FIGURE view, partly in section, showing the parts indifferent positions;

FIG. 8 is a horizontal section looking downwardly from the line 8-8,FIG. 3; and

FIG. 9 is a schematic view in side elevation, to show the manner inwhich the ejected units are directed to a bag and the latter can be heldmanually, or otherwise, as described.

Referring to FIG. 9, it will be seen that the apparatus may be mountedon a suitable support embodying a table and that the confection or otherunits will be discharged into a funnel 2 leading to a bag 3 which willbe held mechanically, or by the operator.

The frame of the apparatus may be of any suitable form and in thepresent embodiment consists of side plates 4 rising from a base plate 5,and in practice these plates will be held in parallel relationship by across strut or struts, as for example by the member 6.

On a shaft 7, journaled in bearing members '7 carried by the side plate4, are two operating rods 8 on which sleeves 9 are slidingly mounted.Extending across the apparatus and carried by the sleeves is a bar 10,and removably attached to the bar are a plurality of ejection fingers 11These fingers are secured to bar 18- by screws 12, so that each fingermay readily be removed and replaced by a finger of greater or lesserheighth.

Secured to strut 6 are a plurality of channeled stack members 14 whichprovide, in the present embodiment, five open end stack receptionmembers for the units to be ejected, these units being indicated at 15Depending from bar 16 are two spaced lugs 16 to which are connected bystuds 17 a pair of swing links 18, each of the latter being pivoted at19 to a lever arm 2% having a hub fixed to shaft 21. Shaft 21 carries ashort arm 22 provided with a roller 23 near its top, which engages theperiphery of a cam 24 on cam shaft 25.

Bar 19 which carries the ejection fingers 11 is engaged by a spring 26secured at its lower end to the base plate 5, hereinabove termed thebase plate. This spring is designed to exert a force on the rods 8 andthe elements Edit-Ale Patented Nov. 12, 19-63 "ice carried thereby,tending always to bring the rods and said elements to vertical positionfrom the inclined position to which the rods are moved in the operationof the apparatus. The purpose of cam 24 and the lever and link elementsabove described is to raise and lower bar 10 and the ejection fingers intimed sequence with forward and back swinging movements of the rods 8and the ejection fingers.

For the swinging movements of the ejection fingers, a second cam, 27, iscarried by shaft 25, and fixed to shaft 7 is a lever arm 23 having aroller 29 in engagement with the periphery of cam 2'7. To assist inmaintaining roller 29 in contact with cam 27, spring 30 may be employed.

In the operation of the apparatus, cam-carrying shaft 25 will be drivenby an electric motor and the motordriven shafit will have interposed atreadle-operated clutch, so that an operator at the funnel-delivery endof the apparatus may control the operating cycles. These elements arewell known in the art and form no part of the present invention.

Referring to FIG. 1, the ejection elements are in position for an activethrow, the stacks of confection or other units resting on shortextensions 14* of the stack members 14. The cam shaft will rotate in'the direction of the arrow, FIG. 1, and it will be noted that theroller 29 carried by lever 2% lies on the low point of the cam 27. Asthat earn rotates, lever arm 28 will be swung to the right and acorresponding ejection movement of the fingers 11 will be imparted, sothat a predetermined number of confection units will be projected fromthe stack as indicated in FIG. 2. Having been dislodged from the stack,as to each of the latter, the units will fall into the funnel 2 and dropinto a bag 3, or other container. In the meantime, each stack above thedislodged unit will be supported by the then substantially horizontalportion of each ejector finger, as indicated in FIG. 2. At this point,the rotation of cam 27 will begin to move toward the low point of thecam, but preceding this the high area of cam 24 relative to roller 23,will pass the roller, and the low point of said cam will cause arm 22 tomove inwardly, and act upon the ejector finger carrying bar it to lowerthe same so that the fingers drop slightly below the extensions or unitsupports of the stack members 14. At this point lever 28 will reach alow point of cmr 27, and the lever 28 will move inwardly to carry theejector fingers inwardly of the stack, whereupon the high point of cam24 will have reached roller 23, and the roller will pass to the highpoint of the cam, causing the finger carrying bar 10 to be raised readyfor an ejection action It will be seen from the above description thatthe ejector fingers have founmotion operation. At the ejection pointthey are moved outwardly to eject the confections or other units fromthe stack. Then they descend, supporting the remaining units of thestacks until the latter rest upon supports 14*, whereupon the fingersmove inwardly to clear the stack and are then raised to the properheight for ejection action.

It is apparent that the degree of ejection and hence swinging action ofthe fingers is determined by the relation of lever 28 and its cam, andthe raising and lowering of the fingers is determined by the relation oflever 22 and its cam. It will be further understood that variousmodifications may be made in the form and arrangement of the elementsshown in the embodiment of the drawing, without departing from thespirit of the invention.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property orprivilege is claimed, are defined as follows:

1. In a dispensing apparatus, a plurality of laterally ii spacedgravity-feed stack members for a plurality of stacks of individual unitsto be bagged, a frame for bolding said stack members, a plurality ofejector fingers one for each stack, a bar and means for releasablyholding said ejector fingers to said bar, first means for raising andalso for lowering said bar relatively to said stack members and secondmeans for swinging said bar from a point at one side of the stackmembers and across the same in an ejection movement vertically extendingspaced rods pivotally carried at their lower ends by the frame, the barfor releasably holding the ejector fingers being slidably mounted onsaid rods, said second means including a pivotal support on said framefor said rods, a first cam and a cam lever operated thereby for swingingthe rods on said pivotal support, said first means including a secondcam, lever and link connections between said second cam and the bar forraising and lowering the latter, and a third means for rotat ng saidcams.

2. In a dispensing apparatus, a plurality of laterally spacedgravity-feed stack members for a plurality of stacks of individual unitsto be bagged, a frame for holding said stack members, a plurality ofejector fingers one for each stack, a bar for releasably holding saidejector fingers, first means vfor raising and also for lowering said barto a position below said stack guides, and second means for swingingsaid bar from a point at one side of the stack guides and across thesame in an ejection movement, said means for raising, lowering andswinging said bar consisting of a cam shaft, a pair of up wardlyextending rods pivoted at their lower ends to the frame and movablycarrying the bar for the ejector fingers, a first cam on said can shaft,a lever engaging said first cam and connected to and adapted to movesaid rods on their pivots, a second cam on said cam shaft, a reel; leverengaging said second cam, and a link connecting said rock lever with thebar for the ejector fingers, and adapted to raise and lower said bar.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,633,588 Klinenberg June 28, 1927 1,705,259 Manning Mar. 12, 19292,693,299 Gross Nov. 2, 1954 2,721,683 Pottle Oct. 25, 1955 I FOREIGNPATENTS 715,178 Great Britain Sept. 8, 1954

1. IN A DISPENSING APPARATUS, A PLURALITY OF LATERALLY SPACEDGRAVITY-FEED STACK MEMBERS FOR A PLURALITY OF STACKS OF INDIVIDUAL UNITSTO BE BAGGED, A FRAME FOR HOLDING SAID STACK MEMBERS, A PLURALITY OFEJECTOR FINGERS ONE FOR EACH STACK, A BAR AND MEANS FOR RELEASABLYHOLDING SAID EJECTOR FINGERS TO SAID BAR, FIRST MEANS FOR RAISING ANDALSO FOR LOWERING SAID BAR RELATIVELY TO SAID STACK MEMBERS AND SECONDMEANS FOR SWINGING SAID BAR FROM A POINT AT ONE SIDE OF THE STACKMEMBERS AND ACROSS THE SAME IN AN EJECTION MOVEMENT VERTICALLY EXTENDINGSPACED RODS PIVOTALLY CARRIED AT THEIR LOWER ENDS BY THE FRAME, THE BARFOR RELEASABLY HOLDING THE EJECTOR FINGERS BEING SLIDABLY MOUNTED ONSAID RODS, SAID SECOND MEANS INCLUDING A PIVOTAL SUPPORT ON SAID FRAMEFOR SAID RODS, A FIRST CAM AND A CAM LEVER OPERATED THEREBY FOR SWINGINGTHE RODS ON SAID PIVOTAL SUPPORT, SAID FIRST MEANS INCLUDING A SECONDCAM, LEVER AND LINK CONNECTIONS BETWEEN SAID SECOND CAM AND THE BAR FORRAISING AND LOWERING THE LATTER, AND A THIRD MEANS FOR ROTATING SAIDCAMS.